Archive for the ‘networking’ Category

Whilst at a business networking meeting this morning the subject of business cards came up. I am sure that the designers will have their very specific views on this which I would love to see.

What is the purpose of your business card?

I think that it is to give the recipient of the card as much information as they need to get in touch with you in any way that they feel most comfortable. This now means that I use both sides of the business card so that I can have:

Name
Address including postcode that the satnav will get you to the front door
phone number – both mobile & landline
email
website
Twitter
facebook
LinkedIn

I know that some people who use skype put those details on as well. This is why I am using both sides of the card.

Last week was busy for networking events. One thing that struck me, and it has come up in conversation before, was name badges. If you go to networking events on a regular basis do you have your own badge or do you rely on the event organiser to provide you with a badge?

If you rely on the organisers, you lose some control of how you present yourself to other people. The organisers may use the badger to advertise the event or their own business. If you are lucky your name spelt correctly with your company name as well. But is it the duty of the organisers to get that correct every time? It might be yours. Also producing badges for people is a time consuming job so it adds to the cost of the event.

At one event recently people were offered sticky labels to place on their jacket and there was a biro to write their name on the label. What does that say about your business? Is it as professional as you wish?

The alternative is to make sure that you have a badge already prepared. You can then have your company name and logo to remind people what you do. You also can make sure that your name is printed in a suitable large font. Chris Liles- The Relationship Doctor said in a recent talk that the font should be at least 28. This is so that when someone has scanned the delegates lists and are looking to talk to you, they can see you from a distance.

Where do you put your badge? On another course we were advised to place the badge on the right hand side lapel. The reason for this is that after shaking hands your eyes easily travel to the shoulder on the way to the face, picking up your name and company on the way. Chris Liles adds that one place not to put your badge is on your belt as who is going to look there?

Jenny Wilding of Research Plus+ suggests that for women it is advisable, have your badge high up, as you don’t want to give men the excuse to stare at your bosom, when you want them to be concentrating on what you are saying not bits of your body.
Well that is it for badges for now so go and get a badge, your business cards & lets go networking 🙂